Introduce yourself here!

[REWahoo]

JLP

If you think you're going to use this forum to troll for business as a Financial Planner, you're probably out of luck. As a rule, we are an independent bunch and don't seek advice from financial planners who, although not true of all, seek to feather their own nest by "plucking" others.


REW

 

[JLP]

JLP

If you think you're going to use this forum to troll for business as a Financial Planner, you're probably out of luck.  As a rule, we are an independent bunch and don't seek advice from financial planners who, although not true of all, seek to feather their own nest by "plucking" others.


REW

No, I'm not here trying to find clients. I am a financial planner, but I will not solicit for clients here. I promise. I did start my blog back in October and I would like readers. Did you look at my blog? I think it is consumer friendly. Sorry if I offended you.

JLP

 

[IDunno]

No, I'm not here trying to find clients.  I am a financial planner, but I will not solicit for clients here.  I promise.  I did start my blog back in October and I would like readers.  Did you look at my blog?  I think it is consumer friendly.  Sorry if I offended you.

Don't feel bad -- it seems that the majority of posters here are anti- financial planners. Don't let it get to you. My introductory post mentioned that I was considering using a financial planner, and everyone seemed focused on that one aspect. Using a financial planner, I could avoid a number of potential pitfalls that are present in the general advice here.

I personally welcome you here, and hope you enjoy your stay.
-Scott

 

[Hyperborea]

 Using a financial planner, I could avoid a number of potential pitfalls that are present in the general advice here.

Hmmm, interesting teaser comment with no backing information. Any specific examples?

 

[JLP]

Don't feel bad -- it seems that the majority of posters here are anti- financial planners.  Don't let it get to you.  My introductory post mentioned that I was considering using a financial planner, and everyone seemed focused on that one aspect.  Using a financial planner, I could avoid a number of potential pitfalls that are present in the general advice here.

I personally welcome you here, and hope you enjoy your stay.  
                                            -Scott

Thanks, Scott! I really like this board. I think it is very helpful. The whole idea behind my blog is to help people make informed decisions and to hopefully explain things in a way that people can understand them!

I don't take offense to people being anti-financial planner. There are a lot of crooks out there disguised as financial planners.

Anyway, I hope to bring helpful material to this board.

JLP

http://AllThingsFinancial.blogspot.com

 

[Eagle43]

Hi Everyone,
I, too, have been lurking around and finally decided to register. I am not an early retiree. I retired from USAF (after 21 years)and from a major corporation (after 22 years). Anyway, this results in two pensions. I will turn 62 this year and start social security too. Have about 500k, counting cash, bonds, and mutual funds. Biggest part is in Vanguard Index funds, which I have split 60-40 (bonds v. stocks). Oh, and I use Tricare for medical insurance which is very cheap.

I wish I had found this forum earlier. I retired rather reluctantly a year ago. I have found that my pensions fund everything, so reinvest all dividends. All is well, so far.

 

[Jarhead*]

Hi Everyone,
I, too, have been lurking around and finally decided to register.  I am not an early retiree.  I retired from USAF (after 21 years)and from a major corporation (after 22 years).  Anyway, this results in two pensions.  I will turn 62 this year and start social security too.  Have about 500k, counting cash, bonds, and mutual funds.  Biggest part is in Vanguard Index funds, which I have split 60-40 (bonds v. stocks).  Oh, and I use Tricare for medical insurance which is very cheap.

I wish I had found this forum earlier.  I retired rather reluctantly a year ago.  I have found that my pensions fund everything, so reinvest all dividends.  All is well, so far.  

Eagle43:
With 2 pensions, Soc. Sec., and $500,000.00 in financial assets, and cheap health ins. that probably places you
in better financial shape than most any poster on this board. Congratulations.
Probably the biggest challenge for you is to figure out how you are going to fill up your days.
Have you developed outside interests that keep you active and involved?
If not, that is probably going to be your biggest challenge, as it appears you have the financial side covered.
In any case, welcome to the board, and enjoy your retirement.
Jarhead

 

[IDunno]

Hmmm, interesting teaser comment with no backing information.  Any specific examples?

Sure. The general consensus here seems to be to buy index funds, and leave it at that. While that is a good generic strategy, it leaves a lot to be desired -- for example, what if the U.S. dollar keeps going down? What if there is heavy inflation (or deflation)? What if the stock market crashes?

Keeping all your money in U.S. stocks is similar to keeping all your money in your employer's stock. It may be patriotic/loyal, but isn't the safest option (and can be very unsafe, depending on what happens).
-Scott

 

[unclemick]

Talks cheap - benchmark Vanguard's Balanced Index and beat it - after ten years you can write a book on how well you did.

By all means, if you have a schtick you're good at - go for it.

I attend two retiree functions a month - back stopped by company pensions/SS - they are all over the map investment wise - gun collecting to raw land to fixed income to rental real estate to coin/stamp collecting to ?? However the largest number have stocks in some form. Then there's Pete - Christmas Tree farm and has his grandkids running his seasonal snowcone stands.

 

[Eagle43]

Eagle43:
With 2 pensions, Soc. Sec., and $500,000.00 in financial assets, and cheap health ins. that probably places you
in better financial shape than most any poster on this board.  Congratulations.
Probably the biggest challenge for you is to figure out how you are going to fill up your days.
Have you developed outside interests that keep you active and involved?
If not, that is probably going to be your biggest challenge, as it appears you have the financial side covered.
In any case, welcome to the board, and enjoy your retirement.
Jarhead

I'm going to Senior Classes, in fact going to an investment class this afternoon. I am trying to learn Spanish. Have taken several short trips. Just returned from South Padre Island, where every 3rd person over 65 seems to be from Illinois. They go down there and rent motel rooms for 2-3 months. Of course the RVs are down there also by the thousands.

By the way, anybody ever heard of Progresso, Mexico? Just across the border from Texas between McAllen and Brownsville? You should see the winter Texans there. Imbibing those cheap maragaritas every mid-afternoon.

I've read Zelinski and Terhorst. Maybe need to take an extended trip to Mexico or Europe a little later this year.

Also, aren't there several posters with a million plus on this forum

 

[Bob_Smith]

Also, aren't there several posters with a million plus on this forum

Yes, but if you calculate the value of your pensions, you're probably in the ballpark. You can go here and plug in the monthly pension amount and get a rough idea of what it would cost to buy that monthly income stream:

http://www.immediateannuities.com/

Add that to your $500,000 and see what you really have. Vanguard has a similar calculator. Many of the millionaires on this board would probably trade with you.

 

[Hyperborea]

Sure.  The general consensus here seems to be to buy index funds, and leave it at that.  While that is a good generic strategy, it leaves a lot to be desired -- for example, what if the U.S. dollar keeps going down?  What if there is heavy inflation (or deflation)?  What if the stock market crashes?

Keeping all your money in U.S. stocks is similar to keeping all your money in your employer's stock.

Index funds and US stocks are not synonymous.  I'm sure that I tried to disabuse you of this notion before.  Hmmm, in fact I did try - http://early-retirement.org/cgi-bin...o_board;action=display;num=1098910884;start=4  There are plenty of non-US index mutual funds and ETFs (exchange traded funds).  If you need help finding these then let me know and I can post some resources for you.

We've had numerous discussions here on assset allocation and particularly on the amount of non-US (or more generally non-home market) content.  I will refer you to the article from Sharpe that suggests that the "ideal" portfolio is one that is capitalization weighted across national markets.  http://www.stanford.edu/~wfsharpe/art/princeton/prince0.htm

Sure there might be some here who believe that holding just the S&P500 is all that you need but there are very few of them.  Probably far fewer than in the general investing public.  Probably even fewer than amongst financial planners who if they put any international investments into your portfolio it's only just a little "dash" of 10% or so.  That "dash" is probably only there in the financial planner's clients' portfolios to make them seem different enough from just the S&P500 to allow them to try and justify their fees.

Now, the FIRECalc tool just uses the S&P500 but a part of that is because the data for other markets or asset classes (i.e. REITs) is spottier, of too short a duration, and/or what exists is expensive to get.  The tool gives some indications and it is useful but almost nobody (save for yourself) seems to think that it is giving total portfolio construction advice.

It may be patriotic/loyal, but isn't the safest option (and can be very unsafe, depending on what happens).

The big problem with portfolio construction is that we are almost for sure going to construct a sub-optimal portfolio compared to the reality that unfolds in front of us.  If we knew perfectly what was going to happen and which asset class was going to perform the best over the next n years then we would be stupid to invest in anything but that asset class.  We, of course, don't know which asset class that will be (though one troll on this site does claim to know) so we allocate our assets around likely candidates using some method.  What method do you use for choosing the likely candidates is a contentious issue at times - on this board and elsewhere.

 

[MJ]

Many of the millionaires on this board would probably trade with you.

I have 2 dear friends in their mid 50's who just retired from public teaching. I suspect their combined pensions total $100k plus cheap health insurance. They don't have to be concerned about managing their investments, or to be concerned about a future lawsuit that could wipe out their nest egg or not be worried about a divorce splitting the nest egg. I can go on and on,

so,

where do I stand in line to exchange my $1mm+ for that no worry monthly pension check. :-/

MJ

 

[haha]

We, of course, don't know which asset class that will be (though one troll on this site does claim to know) ......

Please kind sir, could you identify this benighted individual so that we might know to be wary of his or her dangerous ideas?

Mikey

 

[unclemick]

Well - heh,heh - I always used to know which asset class would beat Mr Market - until Mr Market proved me wrong a 'few' times. Then ala POGO - I looked in the mirror and decided to 'avoid' myself and retired from knowing.

Male and biological - can't totally quell the quest for value - 15% 'putz' money in individual stocks.

 

[IDunno]

There are plenty of non-US index mutual funds and ETFs (exchange traded funds).  If you need help finding these then let me know and I can post some resources for you.

I'm not the one looking for them. I'm the one that knows about them, and is suggesting that many people here could use a fee-only financial advisor, because they don't know about them or don't know they are needed.

We've had numerous discussions here on assset allocation and particularly on the amount of non-US (or more generally non-home market) content.

Perhaps, but if so, I've missed them. Remember, if it appears in a thread with a subject of "Look at this!" or "Here's the real truth" or "What do people do during the summer?" or something else like that, I and many others will miss it. I just don't have the time to see what surprise appears in the "Look at this!" thread, or to see where the "What do people do during the summer?" thread has gone, after it has moved to something completely different.

I will refer you to ...

Again, it's not me that needs your help. It's many of the other people here that need it. And in a way that works for them; many people here see an "asset allocation" thread and think that it is a complex theoretical investing topic, not knowing it applies to them.
-Scott

 

[Eagle43]

MJ said: "where do I stand in line to exchange my $1mm+ for that no worry monthly pension check."

I love those monthly checks. But It took me 43 years to get them so most of you have the one thing I can't replace. Time. If you retired early you are ahead.

Bob Smith said: "Add that to your $500,000 and see what you really have. Vanguard has a similar calculator. Many of the millionaires on this board would probably trade with you."

I did go to that annuity estimator. Hmmmm. I am a millionaire using their methods. Who'd have thunk it?

 

[Hyperborea]

Please kind sir, could you identify this benighted individual so that we might know to be wary of his or her dangerous ideas?

Hmmm, I've sworn to never again let the name be spoken from my lips nor typed by my hands.

"if thou hast no name to be known by, let us call thee devil."
Othello. Act ii. Sc. 3

 

[Gonzo]

Hello Everyone,

I have been lurking here for a while and the great information I found here convinced me that we could retire early. I am 57 and retired January 1, 2005… my wife is 54 and plans to retire at age 57 or sooner. She now carries the health insurance for both of us. I am a veteran so I could use the VA for health needs… I presently use the VA for meds. We have no debt or mortgage. I have run FIRECALC and everything looks like a go.

We live in Wisconsin and would like to spend about 3 months during the winter in Florida or Tucson, AZ after my wife retires.

I like to take long road trips on my Goldwing motorcycle whenever I can. I should be able to do more trips now that work doesn’t interfere.

Thanks for the GREAT site,

Gonzo

 

[laurence]

Hi all! I stumbled upon this great web site quite by accident, and I'm so happy I did! I am 30 years old, my wife is 29. Retiring early is our dream and our goal. We have about 60k saved so far, and just this year upped our 401(k) contributions to the max, so with company matching we'll be putting over 30k a year into our retirement. We have refinanced and are in a 20 year mortgage on a house we love. We feel like we are set if we wanted to retire at 55 ( I get a pension, too), but we dream of retiring ten years earlier than that. Any suggestions? Thanks again!

Oh, and how do I start a new topic? I only saw a reply button....and to think I fix computers for a living....

 

[JOhn Galt]

Go to the home page. Select a category. The "new topic" button is at the upper right.

JG

 

[kz]

I've lurked and posted a few times already.

I'm 50 and have been retired for 11 yrs. Hubby is 53 and is retiring in May. We both have state pensions which will cover our living expenses and then some. Our IRAs/457s/stocks and bonds are ear-marked for long-term care and extensive travel. (if need be)

We plan on doing some traveling while we're young and healthy and then probably build a new home out in the country (we're semi-country now) 5-10 yrs down the road.

Hubby may work part-time if he chooses, but not for awhile. I'm quite looking forward to his retirement so we can spend time hiking, snowshoeing, cutting firewood, canoeing, walking, traveling, and visiting family.

We live in Wisconsin and absolutely love it here. No plans on heading south in winter at this time in our lives. That doesn't mean we won't visit...just don't want to live anywhere but here at the present.

 

[John Galt]

Retired 11 years already! That's impressive. Welcome.

What part of Wisconsin?

JG

 

[laurence]

Congrats on retiring that young! My wife is from Wisconsin, has tons of family up there still (the Wassau(sp?) area). It's beutiful up there, and there must be something in the water, because talk about hearty stock! She has two great grandmothers still alive, one 96 and one turns 100 this summer! Her grandparents still hunt and maintain their own 10 acre spread, they are just amazing!

 

[allen76]

Hello everyone. Have spent the last 3 hours looking over some of the topics and the associated postings. I believe you have something of value here.

My wife and I have begun to think in earnest about early retirement. I look forward to learning from the forum, and perhaps contributing in some small way.

Regards to all.

Easy